Is there a naming-rights sponsor in the works for GreenEdge?

GreenEdge General Manager Shayne Bannan is not ruling out having a naming rights partner for his project in 2012, should it be successful in gaining a UCI ProTour licence.

Speaking to Cyclingnews from UCI Headquarters where he was attending a meeting for 2012 hopefuls, Bannan confirmed that Australian Cadel Evans' recent Tour de France win – the first by any man from the nation, had piqued the corporate world's interest in GreenEdge.

"I think our intentions are that we'll wait until the end of August to see what interest is out there," he explained. "The synergy needs to really feel right and we may have a partner on board, but if not then our intention is to really focus on the brand 'GreenEdge'."

According to Bannan, GreenEdge is representative of the green and gold of Australia and the environment. The Edge being the edge of performance and initiative.

"We believe that it's a dynamic word and when I think Green Edge it motivates me to put something together that's very special for the future of cycling in Australia," he said.

GreenEdge is bankrolled by one of Australia's wealthiest men, Gerry Ryan, who owns Jayco Caravans and the team has financial backing to the tune of around A$22 million a year for the next three years. Ryan himself is reported to be valued at A$180 million.

Several months ago, Bannan told Cyclingnews that Ryan's support meant that he was not "desperate" for a sponsor, indicating that this was most-likely to come into affect for the 2013 season.

"At the moment we are a project, we haven't got a UCI licence, and therefore when you talk to partners it's really hard to quantify what value the sponsorship should be at," he said.

Interest in the sport of cycling and in the nation's athletes has never been higher and for both GreenEdge and a potential sponsor, the time is now.